Love Hidden In Plain Sight
by AngelEyes6
Summary: Can Carter become what Susan thought she had lost forever?
1. Default Chapter

Love Hidden in Plain Sight  
  
Disclaimer: All characters are the property of someone else. J  
  
Summary: Okay, so this is the first fan fiction I've ever been brave enough to post. This is basically a bunch of ideas that I've had floating around in my head since the "It's All in Your Head" episode aired. I tried to put them together in some logical manner, basically filling in some of the gaps from the season, things I wish they would've dealt with on the actual show, but they didn't. I'm certainly a Mark/Susan person, but I'm undecided on the Carsan/Carby thing, so this fic will probably suit both. Ok, so it's more Carsan, but, oh, just read it. J   
  
Spoilers: Yep, especially for the last half of this season, but maybe even from earlier shows, I'm not really sure. It depends on what you consider a "spoiler."  
  
Feedback: Let me know what you think, and I might decide to give this up forever. J And I wrote this really quickly, I spelled checked, but I'm sure there's lots of grammar mistakes, although that doesn't seem to stop anyone else…   
  
Archive: I'm not sure why you'd want to, but if someone does, plus just let me know where I can visit it.  
  
Ok, on with the fan fic… "Love Hidden in Plain Sight"  
  
  
Part I  
  
He laid his head down in her lap, gently, tenderly; as if he was afraid that she would abandon him at any time. She absently rubbed his head, her mind a million miles away. Mark felt as if he was forcing her to stay, but what choice did he have? His wife had left him, in a dispute over his teenage daughter, a daughter who may as well be living on another planet for the amount of positive interaction between them lately. What a way to die, feeling lonely and unloved by the very people that you care the most about. Except for Susan. Mark laid there, feeling closer to her than he had in years and thought about their relationship. He could honestly say that falling in love with Elizabeth had taken his mind off of Susan, he rarely even thought about her unless an incident at work, or a conversation with a colleague, would remind him of her. But now, laying there with her so gingerly stroking his hair, it was as if all those old feelings had never went away. At that moment, he didn't regret the decisions he had made since she had left, he couldn't even recall them. What wife? New daughter? No, right now he was allowing himself a few hours of self-pity, a little detour off of the highway of reality and onto the side road of "what if" indulgence. He could see their life together so clearly, Susan stepping back off the train that autumn day, and into his life. He could see him, leading her by the hand, and back to her apartment. He could them standing by the lake and him getting down on one knee, presenting her with the most expensive diamond he could find, and then telling her that the stone in her ring, could never outshine the beauty in her eyes. He could hear her, as she choked back the sobs, to say, "of course, I'd love to marry you Mark." He could see them walking hand and hand back into the ER, to declare their love to the staff. The congratulations all around, the "it's about times" that were being lauded among their friends. He could see their wedding day, he could see how beautiful she looked, how young, how vibrate, how perfect. He could picture their child, their child that had her eyes, those piercing eyes. Their child, that could be his legacy. Because, as easily as Mark could imagine his life without Elizabeth, and with Susan, he couldn't imagine his life without cancer. No, he was sure of one thing, no matter what direction his love life would've went, he'd still be here now, he'd still be looking death right in the eye, and blinking.  
Susan looked down at Mark, she was so afraid. So terrified of losing him again. When she had left for Phoenix, she knew that life would go on in Chicago without her. She knew she had broken his heart, but what she didn't know was that she was in love with him. No, it would take Susan years to figure that one out. She was engaged to another man, but as her wedding day approached, she was becoming more and more nervous, and her nervousness made her question her love for this man, this man she was suppose to be spending the rest of her life with. It was then that she figured out, that no man would ever take the place of Mark Green, and broke off her engagement. Not long after ending the relationship Susan decided that if she couldn't change the past, if she couldn't go back and accept Mark's offer of undying love, that she could at least go back and accept his offer of undying friendship. Except, that now, sitting there in the quietness of his new home, the home he shared with his new family, all she could think of, was that the friendship she had so desperately sought the revisit, the partnership she had worked so hard to rebuild, was dying, it was dying with Mark.   
"Susan," Mark said awaking from his daydream. She didn't respond and he turned over onto his back so he could see her face. He saw that her eyes were filled with tears, so he gently said her name again.  
"Mark, why aren't you asleep?"  
"I couldn't sleep, my mind is working overtime."  
"What are you thinking about?"  
"Us."  
Susan, snickered, she hoped her laugher didn't give away her thoughts. "What were you thinking about?"  
"You," Susan was trying to avoid using his words, "You and me," she finally gave up, Us." They both laughed at the way she gave up the word, so defeated.  
"What about us?"  
"I was thinking how things have been between us since I came back to Chicago."  
"Things haven't been that different."  
"I know, that's what I mean. When I decided to come back, you were on the top of my "positives" list, but I expected things between us to be awkward."  
"Why would things be different?"  
"Gee, Mark, I don't know, because you were married to someone I'd never met, you had a new baby to take care of, and well, we didn't leave on the best of terms, now did we?"  
"As I recall we parted on broken terms."  
"Yeah, that'd be one way to put it."  
"But we've talked about this before Susan, you shouldn't have been worried."  
"I wasn't really worried Mark, I knew we'd still be friends, but, since I've been back, it's almost like I'd never left. We were "Mutt and Jeff" once again, as if we'd only been separated five hours, instead of five years."  
Mark laughed out loud of the memory of Doug calling them Mutt and Jeff. The ER staff had always had some pretty strong opinions about their relationship.  
"Susan, I've shared a big part of my life with you. I cherish all the times we've spent together, all the times you've been there for me. I will always cherish you. I can't explain it, but even though the last few years with Elizabeth have been great, somehow I know that if those years would've been spent with you, they would've meant more."  
"Mark…" Susan started but he cut her off.  
"I'm not saying that I don't love Elizabeth, I fell head over heels for her, we have something very special. But, it's still not the same as what I had with you. Somehow, in some unexplainable way, the love I have for you is something that I could never lose."  
"Mark, I know we've talked about this before, but I have to tell you how sorry I am for leaving you. I…"  
"No, Susan, I know, I know you're sorry. I'm sorry too, I don't think either of us can take the blame for what happened back then. And in, some odd sort of way, I'm not sure there's even anything to be blamed for. In some ways I think that if you would've stayed that maybe things wouldn't have worked out in the fairy tale way I always imagined they would, maybe our love has stayed so true, so pure, because we let it grow on it's own."  
"Mark, I don't want to lose you."  
"Susan, you're not losing me, I want you to promise me, that no matter what happens in the next few months, no matter what might be said by anyone or to anyone about me, just promise me that you'll never forget the times we've spent together, that you'll never forget how much I love you."  
"Mark, I don't see how I could ever forget that."   
"And Susan, when you do find that special love again, that companionship like we shared, promise me that you'll accept it. Don't think of it as forgetting me, think of it as embracing our love by carrying on with your own happiness." Susan was openly crying now, and Mark grasped her hands. Together they lay there until the shear exhaustion of his day finally lulled Mark to sleep. Susan sit there for hours, just looking at him and thinking about his words. She knew that if anything could get her through losing him, that the memory of all the things that he had just told her, could.   
When Mark woke up the next morning, Susan had fallen asleep, her head laid on top of his. He smiled at the sight of her laying there, she looked so peaceful. Then he gentle woke her. He went to shower and she fixed them some cereal for breakfast.  
"Mark," Susan began as she poured some milk into his bowl, "This may sound like a horrible question, and stop be if I'm going to far, but" Susan was unsure of if she should continue, "what are you going to do?"  
"Do about what?"  
"What are you going to do, with the time you have? Is there anything you want to do?"  
"There's lots of things I want to do, I've even thought about making a list. Is that self-pity or what?"  
"No, that's not self pity Mark," Susan smiled at him.  
"I'd really like to have my family together again. But, I just can't deal with all that right now. I, think, I'm thinking about spending some more time with Rachel, but I'm just not sure how."  
"I'm sure you'll think of something." Susan took his hand and held it for a few minutes, before telling him that she needed to go home. She would only have a few hours before she had to be back at work.  
  
Part II  
Susan stood there, among her co-workers, looking down upon his grave. She had been trying for months to prepare herself for his death; but in reality death was never something one could prepare for. No matter how lingering the illnesses, death always came as a surprise. She saw him leaving the ER that night, he had turned and looked at her, almost looking through her really, and simply smiled. She had knew, deep down, that she'd never see him again. But, she didn't want to believe it. Death is something hard to accept months, years, after the fact, so there was no way she could accept it before it occurred. And the morning that his letter had arrived, as Carter stood in front of them, reading the fax aloud, she had a knot turning in the pit of her stomach, she knew that something was wrong. She knew Mark wouldn't just write the ER a letter out of the blue, she knew Mark, and she knew that he would only send a letter when it would have special significance. The others, didn't really get that at first, they were happy to assume that the letter was just a quick note to say what a great vacation Dr. Green was having. But the look on Carter's face when he saw the last page, that look confirmed Susan's fears. No, she'd never see Mark again.  
Susan was standing in the front row of mourners, and could easily see the tears that rolled down Elizabeth's face, for her own sake, she wasn't crying. She was fighting the tears, that was true, but for some reason it wasn't quite as hard a task as she expected it to be. As she looked at Elizabeth she felt an odd twist of jealously, for the love that Elizabeth had shared with Mark, and guilt, over the love that she had shared with Mark. As they lowered the casket, Susan didn't know how to feel. She had lost her best friend, and she wasn't sure it anyone else knew how she was feeling. When you lose a parent or a spouse, there are a lot of people around you who have been in that position before and can tell you how they felt, and in some ways that's comforting. But there aren't many people around to tell you how they felt when they lost their unrequited love. The soul mate that never quite materialized. Susan was stoic as she viewed the mourners say their final goodbyes at the gravesite. She silently walked over and gave Jenn and Rachel quick hugs. She wasn't sure how to approach Elizabeth, deciding that she may even be angry at Elizabeth for abandoning Mark when he needed her the most. Finally, she decided to hug her quickly and walk away, which is exactly what she did.   
Susan walked to her car, and watched as everyone left the cemetery, each going their separate ways. Half way there, she stopped and walked back towards the grave. She just couldn't bring herself to leave, not yet, something just didn't feel right, then she realized that there was something left that she hadn't said to Mark. Susan knelt down beside the grave, tears were flowing down her face, as she laid her hand upon the dirt and whispered, "I love you too."  
John was watching Susan from were he was standing with Abby. Abby gave him a look, and said "I think she needs you."  
John looked up at Abby, "Yeah, uh, Abby, I'm sorry."  
"It's ok, Carter, I understand, look, I, I'm not sure what we have here, if we even have anything, but I don't think it's anything like what they had."  
"I don't know Abby."  
"Neither do I, and right now, I don't care, just go take care of Susan tonight."  
Carter gave her a quick hug and then walked over to where Susan was knelt by the gravesite. He bent down and put his arms around her from behind. She couldn't see his face, but she knew who it was by the feel of his arms around her. Giving in, she let him left her to her feet. Putting his arm around her shoulders, they walked towards her car. When they got there, she cast one more look back at where Mark was buried, then looked in John's eyes. When she saw the tears that had formed there she knew she couldn't stand it any longer. Shaking with sobs, Susan suddenly decided if she didn't cling to Carter that she would fall. John tightened his grip on her, and they stayed there for what seemed like an eternity, both of them openly weeping for the friend they had lost, finding solace in each other's arms. 


	2. If I Don't Sit Down

"**Love Hidden in Plain Sight" **

Disclaimer: I still don't own the characters.

Summary: Carter tries to help Susan deal with losing Mark.

Author's Notes: This story was intended to be an one time thing, I just wrote down some ideas I had in my head and tried to make them sound logical. But since I did get some positive feedback from this, people saying they wanted to hear more, I decided to continue it. The first part of the story were all things I wish would've happened on the show this season; that may not be so true anymore… Now, I've just figured out how I want this story to end and am trying to write something enjoyable to fit in the middle. J Here's part two of what should be a five part series, _"Love Hidden In Plain Sight."_

Previously …

****

"No, Susan, I know, I know you're sorry. I'm sorry too, I don't think either of us can take the blame for what happened back then. And in, some odd sort of way, I'm not sure there's even anything to be blamed for. In some ways I think that if you would've stayed that maybe things wouldn't have worked out in the fairy tale way I always imagined they would, maybe our love has stayed so true, so pure, because we let it grow on it's own."  
"Mark, I don't want to lose you."  
"Susan, you're not losing me, I want you to promise me, that no matter what happens in the next few months, no matter what might be said by anyone or to anyone about me, just promise me that you'll never forget the times we've spent together, that you'll never forget how much I love you."  
"Mark, I don't see how I could ever forget that." 

"So, how many more double shifts are you planning on working this week?" Carter asked as he entered the lounge.

"I don't know, why are you asking?" Susan refused to look him in the eye. This wasn't the first time they'd had this conversation since Mark passed away earlier in the month. It always started the same way, Carter would criticize Susan for working too much, Susan would claim that she was just doing trying to help out the ER, they were understaffed these days. Then Carter would offer to work a shift for her, and Susan would refuse, finally admitting that she had nothing else to do. Then Carter would pull out the conversation stopper, and bring up Mark's death, asking her to talk about it. They hadn't fought about it, yet, because Susan always left the room as soon as Carter brought up the touchy subject. This morning wasn't any different. Susan knew he was right, but she didn't know any other way to be acting right now, she decided to ignore him and carry on with her day. She turned around to face him, mumbling a weak "I'm fine" before heading out the door. Carter, defeated, leaned again his locker, he knew she was burying herself in her work since Mark's death, and except for the night of Mark's funeral, when Susan had let him hold her while she poured out her heart and wept for the lose of her best friend, she had hardly said a word to anyone on the matter. Carter turned to get his lab coat out of his locker, when he noticed Mark's locker, now occupied by another doctor. Carter looked at Pratt's name tag on the locker and sighed, thinking how much better Mark would be at handling the arrogant resident, not to mention the fact that Mark would know just how to deal with Susan, how to get her through this. Of course, that was the clinger, Susan was having such a hard time with Mark's death, because always before, when she had a problem, it was Mark that she went to, but now, when she's facing one of the biggest problems of her life, she can't go to him to fix it, because he is the problem. Just then Abby stuck her head in the room, "Carter, we need you out here, MVA, multiple victims, ETA is 5 minutes."

"I'll be right there," Carter put on his lab coat, and cast one more glance at Mark's locker, he could almost see him standing there, before walking out into the trauma of the ER.

***

The multiple victims of the MVA turned out to be five victims, a Mother, Father, and three children, two of the victims were critical. Carter had just sent the father with Dr. Romano to surgery. He looked through the glass door that separated the trauma rooms, as Susan's patient, one of the couple's young children, was beginning to go downhill. Susan had just intubated, and was instructing Abby to begin CPR. Carter decided that he needed to help her.

"What have you got?" he asked as he walked into the room, ready to take over.

"She dropped her pressure for a while, but it's back up now," Susan replied, not looking up from her patient.

"Did you check?" Carter began, but Susan wouldn't let him talk. 

"Carter, we're fine. I know what I'm doing."

"Well what about?" Susan cut him off again.

"Do you want to do this?"

"No."

"Do you think that I'm not capable of doing this without you?"  
"No, Susan, of course not, it's just, I was just trying to help."  
"Well, I don't need your help with this, or anything else at the moment, but thanks anyway." Everyone in the room was staring at Carter, who was ashamed and somewhat confused he walked back towards the admit desk to see if there were any other patients he needed to see. He turned as he could hear Susan talking to Dr. Corday, handing off the trauma patient to surgery. Carter thought about how awkward it must be for Elizabeth and Susan to work together, each unsure of the other's motivations. Carter knew that Mark still had feelings for Susan even after he had married Elizabeth. Actually, Elizabeth probably had Susan to thank for the time that she had with Mark, Susan was the one who had turned Mark down, freeing him up, if you will, for his marriage to Elizabeth. Not, that Susan felt that way now, the night of the funeral, she had told Carter how much she regretted her decision to leave Chicago that day, how she didn't realize until it was too late, how much she loved Mark.

"What are you thinking about?" Abby was looking at Carter, waiting on an answer, but he was still far away. "Fine, I didn't want to know anyway."

"Oh, no, Abby, nothing, I was just… thinking."

"What about?" Abby was curious, Carter had been in his own little world lately.

"Susan, I'm worried about her."

"She seems fine to me Carter. She was great in there."  
"Yeah, too great," Carter snorted before going off to the lounge to work on some charts.

"Carter, she's fine. Mark passed away almost three weeks ago, why can't you accept the fact that she's okay?"

"Because I don't think she is Abby."

"Carter, they were just friends, nothing more, at least that's what she told me."

"Well, it may be true, but I don't believe it."

"Regardless she seems to be dealing with it pretty well to me. She hasn't missed work at all, and she's dead on, Susan's a very good doctor ,Carter, and you need to realize that."

"I know she's a good doctor, what gives you the impression I don't?"

"Well, gee, I don't know John, how about the way you just insulted her in there?" Abby asked looking back towards the trauma room.

"Insulted her?"

"Come on, you walk into the middle of a trauma and try to take over? She's not some med student, in fact, weren't you her med student?"

"Technically, I was Benton's student, but Susan taught me quite a lot. A lot about compassion, too. Which, is what I was trying to be, compassionate towards her, not bossy."

"Whatever Carter, that's between the two of you." Carter saw Susan coming towards them and decided to duck out before they got a chance to gang up on him. Susan walked up to the other side of the admit desk and Abby questioned her about the MVA victim. "How's he doing?"

"I'm not sure, it really doesn't look very good."

"Yeah. So, how's Dr. Corday doing, have you talked to her lately? I mean, about Mark?"

"Uh, yeah, kind of. It's just so complicated. I don't really know Elizabeth, the most meaningful conversation we ever had was when she figured out that I knew Mark's secret. And then, I think she thought we were having an affair."

"Wait, you mean you knew about the tumor before she did?"

"Yeah, months before. Mark didn't want me to tell her, he wanted to protect her, he cared a great deal about her."

"He cared about you too, I mean that's a big secret to trust someone with." 

"Well, he had to tell someone, I was just convinent."

"I'm sure there was more to it then that."  
"A lot more," Susan wasn't sure how to explain her relationship with Mark, or her feelings towards him, and really she didn't even want to think about him anymore. Her dreams were filled with images of them together, she awoke each day thinking of him, being at the hospital didn't make the memories go away, they made them even clearer, but that made them less frightening. She was trying hard to spend as much time as possible at work, maybe someday she could face those lonely nights full of memories, but not now. Now, she had to face them armed with other tasks that could compete for the space in her mind. Susan walked off to the lounge to work on her paperwork. 

Carter was fishing his coat out of his locker when Susan walked into the lounge, instinctively, she started to walk back out, "You don't have to hide, Susan. I'm not going to bother you."

"Too late," she scoffed, walking back into the lounge.

"Look, Susan, I'm sorry that I acted like that during the trauma. I knew you were perfectly capable of handling things on your own, it's just that I, I'm worried about you."

Susan sighed, sitting down at the table in the lounge, "Carter I know you're worried and that's very sweet of you, but please believe me when I say that I'm fine, your worrying is doing more harm than good."

"Susan, the last thing I want to do is hurt you. But I really think you need to work through some issues that you have with Mark's death." Susan was avoiding eye contact with him at all costs. "But I promise to leave you alone, if you promise to come to me as soon as you think you're ready to talk." Carter hugged her, quite against her will considering she had spent the whole of their conversation staring at her shoes and mentally counting the black specks in the tile. Susan relaxed briefly into his embrace and whispered, "I promise."

****

Susan walked through the ER doors, ready to start a graveyard shift. In fact it was her seventh night shift in a row that week. She hadn't been feeling very well the past few days, but attributed it all to stress and an irregular sleeping pattern. She saw Carter and Abby talking at the front desk, looking very friendly with one another. She walked into the lounge to put on her lab coat and then start her day, er, night.

"Hi Carter," Susan said as she walked up to him to receive the low down on the patients waiting for her.

"Hi Susan, how are you doing?"

"I thought we agreed you wouldn't ask me that anymore."

"We did, we did, but you look pretty tired."

"Well that's what too many nights shifts will do for you, huh?"

"Yeah, and if I recall correctly that's exactly what I've been trying to tell you for months now."

"So, what's going on around here?"

"Uh, it was a pretty slow evening, there's a drunk crashing in Exam 2, Abdominal Pain in Curtain 3, leg lac in Exam 4, and a Nun waiting on a spinal tap in Curtain 5."

"Well I hate to keep a nun waiting," Susan smiled and headed towards Curtain 5 when she suddenly became very dizzy. She grabbed onto the counter, and Carter reach for her.

"Whoa, what's wrong?" Carter's voice was full of concern and he placed an arm around her to steady her.

"Nothing, just a little dizzy," Susan was trying to act unalarmed and pushed him away.

"You should go home, I'll cover for you."

"Carter I told you I didn't need your help, and I meant it," Susan pushed away from him and towards her patient. Carter watched her walk away, he had no intentions of going home anytime soon, he was too worried about her. He quickly grabbed some patient charts and tried to look busy.

"Okay, Donna, have you ever had this procedure before," Susan began, as Abby laid out supplies for her.

"Oh, yeah, three or four times, and it hurts."

Susan laughed, "Yeah, that'd be the same procedure. Abby, will you hand…."

Abby had her back turned to Susan but looked towards her when she stopped talking, "Hand you.." Abby stopped, Susan had her eyes squinted shut and a pained expression on her face. "Dr. Lewis, are you all right?"

"Yeah, Abby, I'm fine. Excuse me, I just need to get some air." As Susan stood up she became dizzy again, she took a few steps towards the door and collapsed. Abby ran over to her and began to shake her by the shoulders, "Dr. Lewis! Susan!" Susan didn't respond so Abby begin to yell for Carter. Sister Donna rose up with concern, "Is she going to be okay?"

"Yeah, she'll be fine, she's just… tired" Abby tried to calm her patient as she continued to scream for Carter. Carter ran into the room, and did a double take as he saw Susan laying on the floor. 

"Go get me a gurney," he called to Abby, as he tried to arouse Susan. "Susan! Come on, wake up." 

TO BE CONTINUED…

1


	3. Return To Normal

****

"Love Hidden in Plain Sight"

__

Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters.

Spoilers: End of Season 8.

Archive: Sure, just tell me where it's going first.

Summary: Just when Susan thinks things are getting better for her, life takes another unexpected turn.

Author's Notes: This is getting fun. J For the purposes of this story, please overlook any lapses in continuity between the actual show and this narrative; also I was trying to avoid unnecessary medical jargon at all costs, but I hope it still makes sense. Again, thanks for all your comments, I hope you continue to like this part of the story. This chapter is the longest so far, and the story starts to take a different turn. There will be more to come after this one, just a matter of finalizing those chapters and posting them. Sorry to have left you hanging last time and I promise to do it again. *Evil grin* On with chapter three of _"Love Hidden in Plain Sight."_

Previously…

****

"Yeah, Abby, I'm fine. Excuse me, I just need to get some air." As Susan stood up she became dizzy again, she took a few steps towards the door and collapsed. Abby ran over to her and began to shake her by the shoulders, "Dr. Lewis! Susan!" Susan didn't respond so Abby begin to yell for Carter. Sister Donna rose up with concern, "Is she going to be okay?"

"Yeah, she'll be fine, she's just… tired" Abby tried to calm her patient as she continued to scream for Carter. Carter ran into the room, and did a double take as he saw Susan laying on the floor. 

"Go get me a gurney," he called to Abby, as he tried to arouse Susan. "Susan! Come on, wake up." 

****

Susan awoke to the blurry image of Carter sitting perched in the edge of her bed. "Is this IV intended to keep me from running away, or is there a medical reason?" she sighed as she looked at the bag of saline dripping into her veins.

"Susan do you remember what happened?"

"Remember what happened when?"

"Susan!"  
"Yes, Carter, I passed out."

"Yeah, you did. You're dehydrated, which is probably why you collapsed but I'd like to run a head CT, just in case."

"Then I can get back to work?"

"No, you can not get back to work, when is the last time you've eaten anything?"

"I don't know, yesterday sometime I think."

"You need to eat."

"Thanks for the advice, I'll eat as soon as I get home."

"Ok, but that means going home this evening, not staying at work. And not working tomorrow."

"Carter, I'm fine, I just passed out, it's fine."

"Passing out is never 'fine'."

"I'm just special that way," Susan grinned at him, but he wasn't buying it. "You're right, I haven't been eating or sleeping right, which is why I passed out, I'm sure my blood sugar was just low."

"Want to take bets on how low it was?"

"No, thank you, I'd rather not know."

"Susan, you can't go on like this, let me set you up an appointment to talk with someone."  
Susan turned over in bed, but Carter leaned over to put his arms around her, she wasn't getting away that easily. "Please, Susan, let me help you."

Susan gently sit up in bed, turning to face him. "I'm not sure you can. I don't know what's wrong with me. Since Mark died, I just don't want to be around anymore. I hate being home. It's so lonely Carter. My food doesn't taste good, I have absolutely no interest in eating anymore. I can't sleep, every time I close my eyes I see his face. I see him standing there, reaching out to me, but I'm running the other way," tears were freely flowing down her face now. "The only thing I still enjoy doing is working. Thank God, I still like working. Please Carter don't take that away from me," her eyes seemed to plead with him.

Carter hugged her tightly and let her cry. "Susan I have no intention of taking anything away from you. This will just take time, but you have to realize that you're not alone, I'm here, I need you." Susan broke their embrace, wiping her eyes with her shirt sleeve.

"Do you know what bothers me the most?"

"What's that?"

"That, I wasn't anything to Mark. I wasn't his sister, or his daughter, or his wife. But I seem to be taking this harder than anyone, and that's not fair, that's not fair to Elizabeth. She's the grieving widow, not me."

"Is that what's this is about? Trying to hide your feelings from all of us?"

"I feel guilty that this is bothering me so much, I didn't want anyone to know."

"Well, you're doing a great job. I've fought with Abby all week because she said you were fine."

Susan smiled, "Yeah, well you didn't buy my act for a minute."

"No, I didn't."

"Can I go home Carter?"

"Not until you're hydrated again, but then I'll take you home."  
"You don't have to take me home."

"I know I don't, but I'm going to." Susan didn't know how to feel, she wanted to smile as much as she wanted to cry, so she just buried her head in his chest to hide the emotions that were dancing across her face. He tenderly rubbed her hair, as she fell asleep.

****

"Susan, where do you keep the chicken broth?" Carter yelled in the general direction of her bedroom.

"Ew, Carter, can't we just order something?" Susan emerged from the bedroom clad in her flannel pajamas, and walked into the kitchen.

"You feel up to solid foods?"

"I don't want to eat anything; but since you're insisting, Chinese sounds much better than broth." Susan made a disgusted look.

"Chinese it is then. Now, where's the telephone?"

Susan looked at him, briefly thinking about telling him that she was well enough to dial the phone, but instead she just picked up the cordless and tossed it in his direction, before collapsing onto her couch. She sit there and listened as he ordered for them.

"You didn't even ask what I wanted," Susan looked at him in faux anger as he sat the phone back down.

"You said you weren't going to eat," Carter said as he joined her on the couch.

"I may have."

"You will." Carter gave her an evil look, and they reminded locked in each other's stare, until both burst out in laughter.

"Don't you have somewhere else to be Carter?"

"Like where?"

"I don't know, how about with Abby?"

"She's at work."

"Oh, and if she wasn't at work, where would you be?"

"Right here," Carter smiled, he had thought he had feelings for Abby, but since Susan had returned, he realized how much those feelings paled in comparison to his feelings for her.

"Are you sure?"

"Susan, you may never understand how sure I am."

"Thanks, Carter."

"Don't thank me. So, are you feeling better?"

"Yeah, I am, a lot better. I'm not sure if it was the expert medical attention I received today or just talking about things, but I defiantly feel better now."

"Good," Carter spied a picture of a little girl sitting on the coffee table. "Hey, is this little Susie?"

"Yeah, that's her," Susan couldn't hide her admiration for her niece.

"Wow, she's beautiful. She looks just like you."  
"That's what Chloe says, when she's lucid."

"How long did Chloe stay clean?  
"Five years, well, maybe three, some of the details are hazy, just what I can piece together from her and Joe."

"Either case, that's a long time."

"I thought so, but I guess I'll never really be able to trust her." Carter just looked at her, unsure of what to say next, but the doorbell rang before he had to decide.

"There's our food."

****

Susan walked into the ER, desperately hoping that no one would ask her about he fainting spell the week before. "Dr. Lewis!" Gallant was coming towards her. "I'm glad you're back, that flu can be nasty, huh?"

"Yeah, it was… terrible." Susan smiled, thinking that whoever had started this flu rumor needed to be thanked.

"Hi Dr. Lewis."

"Hey, Abby, how are things today?"

"Not too bad, are you feeling better?"

"Yeah, a lot. Thank you for the other day."

"No problem. And uh, if anyone asks you about your flu, just play along." Abby turned and walked away. Susan smiled to herself and walked off to start her day.

The day was pretty routine; a few traumas, but just enough to keep it intersetting. Susan and Carter were working on a GSW and Abby was at the desk when a little blonde headed girl walked into the ER and up to Abby.

"Hello," the little girl said timidly.

Abby almost didn't hear her she was speaking so softly, "Can I help you?"

"My Mommy brought me here, and told me to come ask for Dr. Lewis." The little girl could've have been more than six and she looked so scared that it gave Abby chills.

"Is Dr. Lewis your doctor?"

"Kind of."

"Is your Mommy coming in too?"

"No, Mommy had to leave, she said she couldn't take care of me anymore, but that if I stayed here, Susan would." Recognition started to form in Abby's eyes, she saw Luka walking down the hall and yelled to him to find Susan.

"Why?"

"Just find her, and tell her to come to the lounge, it's an emergency." Luka still looked confused but did as he was told.

"Come on, let's go find you a seat."

"Please, just get Aunt Susan, I need her."

"I am, she's coming, let's just go sit down and wait for her, okay?"

The little girl nodded, still unsure of trusting Abby, "Okay."

****

"Don't put me on hold!" Susan was nearly screaming into the telephone. The other party put her on hold and Susan hung up the phone. She had been trying for an hour to find Chloe and Joe, calling every police agency in Chicago, but no one seemed willing to help.

"Can I stay here?" 

"Of course you can, sweetie," Susan bent down and picked up her niece. "I'm not going to leave you, I promise."

"You never leave like Mommy does."

"Susie," Susan sat down on the couch in the lounge, the little girl still curled up in her lap, "Your Mommy is sick, and when she leaves you, it's not because she wants to, she just, she doesn't know what else to do."

"I'm glad she brought me here."

"I am too honey." Susan hugged her tightly. Abby and Carter watched them from outside the lounge.

"So, what's wrong with Susan's sister that she would just abandon her child like that," Abby asked Carter, looking for answers.

Carter just shook his head, indicating he didn't care to talk about it, "Let's just say it's not the first time this has happened."

"I know how she feels, feeling like your own mother doesn't love you is something no child should ever have to go through."

"Did you have an Aunt Susan to go to?"

"No, I don't think I did," Abby gave a half hearted smile in the general direction of Susan, who was rocking little Susie. Carter and Abby entered the lounge.

"Susan, why don't you go on home, I'll cover for you."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure."

"Thanks Carter."

"I'm off too, it was nice to met you Susie," Abby waved to Susie before she left. Little Susie wasn't in the mood to do anything but cling to her aunt still, she managed a half grin at Abby. Susan thanked Abby as she left. 

"Carter, would you sit here while I get my stuff?"

"Sure." Carter sat down next to little Susie, while Susan got up to get her purse out of her locker. He started to talk to her, but she leapt up off the couch and grabbed Susan's legs. 

"Don't leave without me."

"Baby, I'm not, come on, let's go home," Susan took the little girl by the hand, and started towards the door.

"Can we get pizza first?" 

"Sure we can, whatever you want, Susie."

Carter grabbed Susan's free hand and squeezed it, mumbling an "I'll call you later," as the two ladies left the lounge.

****

Susan and Susie entered Doc Magoo's, the later still keeping a tight grip on her aunt's hand. 

"Hey!" Abby called to them as they entered the restaurant.

"Hi Abby," Susan begin to walk towards Abby's table.

"You two want to sit with me?"

"Sure, is that okay, sweetie?" Susie nodded her okay, and the pair sit down with Abby. "We came for some pizza."

"I'm hungry," Susie informed Abby.

"Yeah, I was too, actually I hadn't ordered yet and pizza sounds really good."

"Do you like sausage?" Susie inquired.

"Susie is a sausage junkie," Susan laughed as Abby and her niece began a pizza toppings conversation that she had been through a dozen times before.

Two hours later, all three had gotten their stomachs full and little Susie had fallen asleep on her aunt's lap.

"She's beautiful, isn't she?"

"Yeah, she is," Susan looked down at her sleeping niece.

"So your sister must be pretty hard on her, huh?"

"Chloe, has… issues."

"I didn't mean to pry, Susan, I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay. Chloe is a junkie. Our parents didn't want us around much after we finished high school, we were kind of left on our own. Chloe never found anything constructive to do with her time, and she really didn't want anything to do with me. But whenever she would get into trouble, there she'd be, right on my doorstep. Usually it was just to get money, but one night she showed up pregnant. She insisted she had changed, and in a brief moment of supreme stupidity I believed her. She stayed with me until Susie was born, and then about a month later, Chloe said she couldn't handle being a mother anymore and she just took off. I found little Susie all alone in my apartment; she looked so tiny. I thought about giving her up for adoption, but I couldn't. I kept her for nearly a year before Chloe showed up again, wanting her back. I fought it, but it was a losing battle. That's really why I moved to Phoenix, I was afraid of what would happen if they were that far away from me."

"Did she stay clean while you were there?"

"I thought so, but apparently she didn't. At least that's what her husband, Joe, told me. I'm not sure when I'm going to learn to stop trusting her."

"Well, sometimes blind trust is all we have."

"I guess you're right."

*****

Susan had carried Susie home from the restaurant, but she woke up as soon as she laid her down.

"Aunt Susan! Where are you going?"

"Nowhere, baby, I was just going to get ready for bed."

"I can't sleep."

"I'm right here pumpkin, it's going to be okay now."

"Can we watch a movie?"

"Sure, let's see what we can find." Susie held out her arms, and Susan picked her up and carried her to the living room. She found a movie on television that Susie liked, and together the two ladies drank Kool-Aid, and watched T.V. 

Susie had fallen asleep hours before, but Susan was still laying there in the dark, thinking about the day's events, when the doorbell rang. Susan thought it might be Carter, but it was well after midnight. She got up off the couch, careful not to wake Susie, and looked through the peep hole. Seeing who was there, she was hesitant to open the door. Finally anger took a hold of her and she threw the door open , "What are you doing here?"

"I came to get Susie, Chloe never should've dropped her off like that."

"No, she should've have, Joe. Where were you at?"

"I was at the hotel asleep, I thought they were just going to visit you, I never dreamed Chloe was going to take off."

"Why not, it seems to be getting pretty routine."

"Susan, Chloe already feels guilty, just let us have Susie back."

"No, not tonight Joe, she's tired and she's scared, I'm not waking her up for you to take her back."

"Then we'll come get her tomorrow."

"We'll see," Susan slammed the door in his face and returned to snuggle up against her niece on the couch.

To Be Continued….

Hey, I started to quit right after the little girl asked Abby to go find Dr. Lewis. J Also, apologized to all Carbys, but I just couldn't do it. I tried. But for now we'll just consider this story an "ER Gang friendship" type thing. 


	4. Abbott and Costello

****

"Love Hidden in Plain Sight"

Chapter Four

Disclaimer: Someone else owns all these characters.

Archive: Sure, just tell me where.

Spoilers: End of Season Eight.

Summary: Susan continues to deal with Mark's death and her sister's addictions; but has Carter for support.

Author's Notes: Just remember; these aren't situations I'd necessarily like to see happen on the show, so yes, I realize Carter and Susan are over, and that Carter and Abby are probably going to be the TPTB's next big thing, but I don't care. Nope, not one bit. I'm just entertaining myself, and hopefully some of you, by experimenting with the characters. Thanks for reading, and the final chapter should be up tomorrow or later today. Now, on with chapter four of… _Love Hidden in Plain Sight._

****

Previously

****

"Hello," the little girl said timidly.

Abby almost didn't hear her she was speaking so softly, "Can I help you?"

"My Mommy brought me here, and told me to come ask for Dr. Lewis." The little girl could've have been more than six and she looked so scared that it gave Abby chills.

"Is Dr. Lewis your doctor?"

"Kind of."

"Is your Mommy coming in too?"

"No, Mommy had to leave, she said she couldn't take care of me anymore, but that if I stayed here, Susan would." Recognition started to form in Abby's eyes, she saw Luka walking down the hall and yelled to him to find Susan.

"Have you ever had stitches before Mary?" Susan asked as she began to sew up the leg of little five year old Mary. 

Mary wasn't in the mood to talk. Her Mom answered for her, "No, this is our first trip to an emergency room."

"Well first times can be scary," Carter said as he watched Susan. It was an unusually slow day in the ER, which is why they were tag teaming a rather simple case. Well, that and Carter just wanted to follow Susan around as much as he could.

"But, Dr. Lewis is a stitches expert."

"Really?" Mary asked, more willing to talk to Carter.  
"Oh, yeah, she's the best in the city. Maybe even the state."

Susan rolled her eyes and tried not to burst out in a smile. This wasn't really the appropriate time to flirt, but Carter didn't seem to care. "Well, Dr. Carter just isn't very good at it."

"You can't do stitches?" Mary asked Carter, who was sitting by her bed holding her hand.

"Well I can, but not like Dr. Lewis can. And I thought you deserved the best."

"How many stitches do you think it's going to take?" Mary's mother didn't seem to be interested in their romance.

"At least fifteen, maybe a few more, this is a pretty long and deep gash here."

"Now what exactly caused you to fall Mary?"

"I dripped over my bicycle."

"Sounds like something Dr. Carter would do," Susan grinned.  
"You have a bicycle?" Mary asked, as only a five year old would.

"Oh, yeah, me and Dr. Lewis we ride our bicycles all the time."

"Faster than the train," Susan was taking part in the conversation without ever looking up from the little girl's leg.

"I like trains," Mary offered.

"She doesn't like to fly, so we take the train a lot," Mary's mother shook her head.

"Trust me Mary, I know just how you feel, I hate to fly," Susan completely understood the fear of flying.

"Mary, guess what?" Carter said as he glanced down at Susan.

"What?" Mary almost managed to smile.

"You're finished," Susan answered for him.

"Really?"

"Oh, yeah, as good as new." Carter filled the mother in on after care instructions and Susan bandaged the leg. They walked out into the hallway laughing and teasing each other about their bicycle rides.

"Well if it isn't the Abbott and Costello of the ER," Jerry said as the pair walked past him. Susan and Carter nodded their heads towards him and kept walking. Carter was called into a trauma but Susan thought the room looked a little crowded so she decided to sit this one out.

****

Susan walked into the lounge smiling, working with Carter these days seemed to be the only thing that made her happy. She was surprised at the ease in which they could communicate, he made her forget about all the problems in her life and especially about how much she dreaded going home. Still smiling, she sit down at the table to work on some of her charts. Abby was sitting by the coffee maker, waiting to start her shift.

"Hi Susan."

"Hey Abby," Susan sat down at the table beside her, and opened one of the charts she had been carrying.

"How's your niece?"

Susan's face dropped, she felt guilty for enjoying herself all day when she knew how Susie must be feeling right now. "Uh, not very good. She's been calling me every night, asking me to come and get her. I've offered to come, just take her for an hour or so, but Chloe and Joe won't let me."

"Why not, are they afraid you won't bring her back?"

"I think so. I really don't know what to do. She needs to be with her mother, I understand that concept, I honestly do. But, she's terrified to be with Chloe. She doesn't trust her anymore and I have to agree with Susie."

"You know, Susan, so do I. I know what it feels like to be with a mother that can't keep a promise. Believe me, sometimes the birth parents are anything but the best choice for a child."

"Was your Mom an addict?"

"Bi-polar."

"Oh, I didn't know."

"No, it's okay. I just, I know what a hard life she has ahead of her. You do too Susan, the older little Susie gets the more of your role, the protector, that she's going to take on."  
"It's not fair," Susan could feel the tears beginning to form in her eyes.

"No, it's not fair at all. Susan I'm sorry I brought it up, you seemed so happy when you first came in, I thought things were going better."

"Other things are going better," Susan almost laughed, "But they're more of a diversion."

"Well you could use a good diversion about now," Abby smiled at Susan before she turned and left the lounge. Susan started to work on her charts, convincing herself that if she could concentrate on working that she wouldn't start crying.

****

Susan must've spent three hours in the lounge working on paperwork. She keep finding more things that she could do to avoid going home and thinking about little Susie. Finally, from shear exhaustion if nothing else, she fell asleep with her head laying on the table in the lounge. She was still sleeping an hour later when Carter came in to get his things before heading home.He hurriedly walked over to her, afraid she had gotten sick again. "Susan, sweetheart, wake up."

"Hmm…" Susan was beginning to drift out of her sleep.

"Come on, it's time for you to go home."

"Carter?" Susan finally raised her head from the table.

"Yeah, come on, go home."

"No, I have to finish these first."

Carter picked up the paper that Susan had been working on, "Susan this is the ER's financial report."

"Well Romano wants me taking part of the burden now."

"For 1975."

"I've already looked at all the newer ones."

"Go home."

Susan just looked at him, she didn't want to fight, not with Carter. But she really didn't want to go home.

"I can't go home, I can't go home and just wait for another phone call from Susie."

"I'll go with you."

"Carter, that won't help. She'll still call, she'll still be hysterical, and I still won't be able to help her."

"But you won't be alone."

By this time Carter was knelt down in the floor in front of where she was sitting in a chair. Susan laid her head over on his chest, and her wrapped his arms around her waist.

"This is so hard."

"I know."

"I wish Mark was here. He'd know what to do."

"I wish he was here too Susan. But he's not. And I am. Please, let me help you."

"I'd let you help me, if there was anything you could do. But there isn't, there's nothing either of us can do to fix this." Susan wiped her teary eyes. 

"Come on Susan, it is early. Let's go have dinner."

"Carter, that's sweet but.."

"Ok, how about I come over later tonight, after you have some time to rest?"

"Fine, come over later." Susan had to smile at his persistence. Carter hugged her again then escorted her out of the ER.

****

Carter was having a hard time trying to balance the pizza and movies he was carrying as he walked up to Susan's apartment. He knocked on the door and began to worry when it took her awhile to answer. He pressed his ear to the door to try and hear if she was inside. Of course that's when Susan chose to open it.

Carter almost dropped the pizza as he fell inside the apartment. It took him a minute to recover his balance and then put the food and movies down on the coffee table before he finally looked at Susan. She was on the telephone, her eyes were red and swollen, and tears were streaming down her face. He mouthed "What's wrong?" but she couldn't bring herself to speak. Finally, she put the speakerphone on.

"PLEASE, Aunt Susan, you have to help me! PLEASE!"

Carter's eyes grew wide as he listened to Susan try and calm her niece down. "Is this the first time she's called?"

Susan held up her hand. "She's called five times?" Susan shook her head yes. On the phone, Susie continued to scream.

"Mommy's going to hurt me again, please come and get me!" Susan tried to talk to Susie but suddenly he phone line went dead. Susan and Carter locked terrified eyes and held each other's gaze until Susan finally broke the stare and bolted from the apartment.

To Be Continued….


	5. Love Hidden in Plain Sight

****

"Love Hidden In Plain Sight"

Chapter Five

Disclaimer: Characters are all owned by someone else.

Archive: If you wish, just let me know.

Summary: Susan fights to gain custody of little Susie, as everything in her life seems to be going wrong.

Author's Notes: Ok, this is the last part of the story that wasn't going to be. Actually I wrote this part somewhere in the middle of writing Chapter Two, so I've known the ending of the story for awhile. I can promise that some of you well be sorely disappointed in the ending, but that hopefully some of you will thoroughly enjoy the ending and find it well worth the wait. Thank you all for your reviews and maybe some day I'll write another story, but for now, this is the end of _"A Love Hidden in Plain Sight."_

__

Previously….

****

He could see their life together so clearly, Susan stepping back off the train that autumn day, and into his life. He could see him, leading her by the hand, and back to her apartment. He could them standing by the lake and him getting down on one knee, presenting her with the most expensive diamond he could find, and then telling her that the stone in her ring, could never outshine the beauty in her eyes. He could hear her, as she choked back the sobs, to say, "of course, I'd love to marry you Mark." He could see them walking hand and hand back into the ER, to declare their love to the staff. The congratulations all around, the "it's about times" that were being lauded among their friends. He could see their wedding day, he could see how beautiful she looked, how young, how vibrate, how perfect. He could picture their child, their child that had her eyes, those piercing eyes. Their child, that could be his legacy. 

"Susan!" John was out of breath; he had been chasing her down the steps of her apartment building, all five flights of stairs. "Come on, there's got to be a better way of doing this!"

Susan finally stopped, panting, as she reached the bottom of the stairs. 

"How, John, please tell me how I fix this?" She was at her wit's end, Chloe was cycling out of control and Susan felt as if there was nothing she could do to help her sister, or her niece. 

"We call an attorney and work on having Chloe declared an unfit mother. With her track record it shouldn't be hard to get the court to grant an injunction against her."  
Susan sighed, her emotions were spinning so rapidly she wasn't sure what she was feeling from moment to moment. "She's my sister, how can I do that to her?"

"Susan," John looked her in the eye for the first time in weeks, "You don't have a choice."

Susan leaned back against the wall to the stairwell of her apartment, minutes earlier she was ready to leave Chicago, leave everything, she didn't think she could handle life anymore, but now he had calmed her down enough to know, that if she couldn't change anything else, if she didn't help another soul, she could still save Susie, save her from the torment of having to take care of Chloe. Carter reach out for Susan's hand and slowly led her back up to her apartment. 

Hours became days and days became weeks, as John and Susan worked together to try to file an injunction against Chloe. The task proved harder than they had imagined. They were quickly getting a sense of how one minded the court system was, it seemed that no matter how much evidence they brought against Chloe, that the court's still thought she was the best one to raise Susie, simply because she had given birth to her. After about a month of attorney visits and court appearances their lawyer told Susan that the only way he felt she could take custody of little Susie was for Joe, Chloe's husband, to sign over his parental rights and denounce Chloe as a mother. Susan assumed that was the end of the fight, Joe had worked hard to gain parental rights over Susie, and she didn't see him giving them up without a fight. Besides, Joe had stuck by Chloe through so much lately, there wasn't any reason to suggest that he wouldn't stick by her through this as well. Susan decided to call Joe and try to reason with him, to make him realize how sick Chloe really was and how much Susie was hurting.

****

Carter was just finishing his shift and decided to look for Susan. She was suppose to have had a hearing with the judge earlier that morning, and he hadn't gotten to talk to her about it yet. He was absently mindedly glancing around the ER, but didn't spot anyone but Gallant. "Hey, Gallant, have you seen Dr. Lewis?"

Gallant looked up at Carter, from the stack of charts he was working on, "I think she said something about taking a walk."  
"Did she seem upset?"

"I don't know, I wasn't really paying attention." Carter nodded his head towards the med student and walked out of the hospital. As he walked out of the ER, he didn't see her sitting anywhere nearby, so he decided to check the lake. As he walked towards the shore, he could see Susan standing there, it was a warm early spring day, and her hair was blowing softly in the wind as she stared out over the lakefront. Carter couldn't imagine what must be going through her mind. First she had lost her best friend, then her sister had dropped her niece off at the door to the ER but later changed her mind and took the little girl back. Finally, little Susie had began to call Susan every night to bed her to come and "save" her. Susan wasn't sure of what to do, she wasn't even sure life was worth living anymore. Carter had tried his best to be a friend to her through all this but now he had to convince her that she had something to live for.

"Hey," Carter walked up behind her slowly, placing a hand on her shoulder.

She didn't turn around, she didn't need to, she knew exactly who it was, "Hi John."

"How did it go?"

"Joe showed up," Susan stuttered, "He, he signed away his rights to Susie," Susan wasn't happy at what had just happened to her sister, but she still couldn't contain her smile. "The judge said Susie would officially be in my custody at the beginning of next week, and I can start adoption proceedings then."

John hugged her tightly, tears glistening in his eyes, "Susan, I'm so happy for you, this is great!"  
"Are you crying?" 

"Susan, I've been so worried about you but time after time you've proved to me that there wasn't any reason for me to worry. Again and again, no matter what happened, you were still the one who was strong."

"John, if you hadn't been there, I don't know what I would've done," John didn't let the softer tone in her voice go unnoticed.

"You would've been fine Susan, but I couldn't think of not being there for you," John leaned in to kiss her and she didn't dare hesitate. The kiss was slow and long, neither wanting it to end.

"Susan," John looked up at her, slowly getting down onto one knee, "I don't want this to seem sudden, but I've fallen so in love with you and I know that if you'll just agree to marry me, that we can both be happy, finally we can be happy together." John held out the largest diamond ring Susan had ever saw and she looked at him with a face mixed with surprise and elation.

"John," Susan stuttered but then realized how much she loved John, how they had developed that perfect relationship, like the one she had always had with Mark, and decided that this time, she wouldn't miss out, "Of course I will." Her voice was barely above a whisper as she responded. John slipped the ring on her finger, and Susan touched it gingerly. They kissed again, and then turned to walk back to the hospital, they had some news to share.

****

They walked into the ER, hand and hand, and were met by faces that said, "Yeah, we saw this coming a long time ago." And, when Carter gathered the group to announce that they were getting married that's exactly what they heard. "It's about time," Haleh announced before smirking and walking away. "Big shock," Luka snorted sarcastically before smiling, hugging Susan and Carter then making his way back to a trauma room. Elizabeth even hugged Susan, and wished her the very best with Carter, expressing sympathy for what Susan had been through, and thanking her for being there for Mark. "It's taken me a while to be able to say this, but I'm glad he felt as if he could come to you, when he couldn't come to me. I know that you made his last months bearable, thank you Susan." Susan smiled and told Elizabeth that she wished her the very best. Abby looked up at Carter, and just sighed, "I'm glad you're happy."

"I am, Abby, I couldn't be happier right now." Carter couldn't stop grinning he just couldn't contain his emotions. "Thank you Abby, for making me realize how much I love her."

"No problem, what are friends for?" Abby kissed him on the check and then turned to hug Susan, before getting back to work.

"So, are you ready to go get our daughter?" Susan asked as she took John's arm and led him towards the doors.

"You'll never know how ready." Carter wrapped his arm around her shoulders and together they went off to begin their new life.

*****

Six Months Later

John and Susan sit on the couch in his grandmother's large living room. Between them little Susie was snuggled up in a blanket, asleep. John looked at his wife, who was concentrating way too hard on the movie they were watching, and then down at his step-daughter. Susan caught him staring at them, "What is it?" she asked looking up at him.

"Nothing, I was just thinking about how lucky I am to have you two." John slipped his arm around her, efficiently holding her and Susie, as they snuggled up to finish their movie. They had finally realized that the love you can't live without is often the love that is hidden in plain sight.


End file.
